The Wraith was released into theaters on November 21st, 1986. Filming locations include Tucson and Vail, Az. It was directed by Mike Marvin. The lead of Jake Kesey was played by Charlie Sheen. Immediately after Sheen finished shooting The Wraith he started working on Platoon, the greatest war film ever made, in my humble opinion. The Wraith's car in the film was a Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor. It was designed and constructed at an estimated cost of $1.1 million dollars by Chrysler Motors and PPG Industries. While filming a chase sequence in mountainy terrane, assistant cameraman Bruce Ingram was killed when the camera car he was in overturned. For some reason, it was decided that Griffin O'Neal, who was in the movie for twenty-four minutes, would be put on the theatrical poster alongside the three leads. I never understood that. The movie has a phenomenal soundtrack. Some of the songs include Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer, Hold On Blue Eyes by LaMarca, Rebel Yell by Billy Idol, Secret Loser by Ozzy Osbourne and Smokin' in the Boys Room by Motley Crue. The score was composed by Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson. The films first DVD release was on November 26th, 2002.
The light flies under the bridge - Frontage Rd. Vail, Az. 85641
(Cienega Bridge)
The bridge was constructed in 1921. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 30th, 1988.
2021
Rolling hills road - just south of * N. Sandario Rd. and N. Kinney Rd. Tucson, Az. 85743
Jake is riding his Honda XL350R south along N. Sandario Rd.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
Keri Johnson's house - 2128 E. 5th St. Tucson, Az. 85719
The 1,425 square foot house was built in 1927. The large tree in front of the house was removed in 2019.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.
Swimming hole - 5700 N. Sabino Canyon Rd. Tucson, Az. 85750
(Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, Sabino Creek)
In order to get to the exact spot where they were swimming, start out at the visitor center and travel north along N. Upper Sabino Canyon Road for .5 miles until you reach a sign that reads Sabino Dam, with an arrow pointing to the right. You'll then travel 1 mile until the road ends and you come to a restroom structure. Continue walking past the restrooms and follow the dirt paths to the Sabino Dam and the swimming hole is directly under the dam. The majority of the rock formations seen in the film are still recognizable. The best time to see the swimming hole with water is in the spring, when the melting snow from the Santa Catalina Mountains run into the creek. Another option would be after a hard rainfall during monsoon season, which runs from early July to late September, but exercise caution regarding flash floods during this period.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
View of the swimming area from the direction of the dam.
Big Kay's Burger - 2627 E. Benson Hwy. Tucson, Az. 85706
The structure used for Big Kay's was demolished in the early 90's. It had been there since at least the mid 60's. It would've been partially where the current building now sits.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
Sheriff Loomis talks to Packard and his gang - Catalina Hwy. Az.
(Geology Vista Point)
This location is at an elevation of 6,700 feet.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
Packard Walsh's garage - W. Old Tucson Ajo Hwy. and S. San Juaquin Rd. Tucson, Az. 85713
(Snyder Hill)
The entire area around the hill is a high use free campsite.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
The spot where the structure stood.
Looking out in the opposite direction from where the structure stood.
Roadblock - Frontage Rd. Vail, Az. 85641
(Cienega Bridge)
The police are chasing the Wraith north along Frontage Road. This is the same bridge that the light flies under at the beginning of the movie.
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
Skank & Gutterboy driving - N. 4th Ave. and E. 7th St. Tucson, Az. 85705
They are driving south along N. 4th Street.
2021
Skank & Gutterboy chase Jake & Keri - N. 4th Ave. and E. University Blvd. Tucson, Az. 85705
They are driving south along N. 4th Street.
2021
They emerge from the underpass - N. 4th Ave. and E. Stevens Ave. Tucson, Az. 85701
(4th Ave. underpass)
There's been some debate amongst fans of the film as to whether the 4th or 6th Avenue underpass was used for the bike chase scene. It's very difficult to know for sure, since the 4th Avenue tunnel has been restructured and the 6th Avenue tunnel has been remodeled since filming took place. However, something I'm one-hundred percent certain about is that when they emerge, it's from the 4th Avenue underpass. This is because The Shanty can be seen on the right side of the street, as fellow Wraith fan Alto Beto has pointed out. They then turn left onto E. Stevens Ave. and the pursuit continues. It's not out of the realm of possibility that the shots of them approaching and exiting were at the 4th Avenue underpass and the shots of them going through the tunnel were inside the 6th Avenue underpass.
2021
Jake & Keri riding - 5700 N. Sabino Canyon Rd. Tucson, Az. 85750
(Sabino Canyon Recreation Area)
They're riding along N. Sabino Canyon Rd. The road has been closed to private vehicles since 1978, but it's a very popular hiking destination. It runs 3.7 miles (one way). There are ten bridges within that 3.7 mile span. In the 1st screenshot, they're crossing over the sixth bridge. In screenshots 2 & 3, they're crossing over the tenth bridge.
2021
All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.
